The 15,125-square-foot furnished mansion on a half-acre off
pricey Gulf Shore Boulevard North sounds like a dream home.
The Multiple Listing Service sheet by SunshineMLS also
describes concrete block and stucco construction, five
bedrooms, including two master bedrooms, marble and wood
floors, an elevator, six bathrooms, three half-baths, a den,
exercise room, home office, media room, screened lanai and
porch, and a four-car garage.
For friends, there’s a 3,310-square-foot guesthouse with
two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a balcony. To stash away the
millions of bucks? A safe and security system.
So it’s no wonder that posh real estate listing enticed
J. Robert “Bob” Sebo — an investor and founder and former
director of New York-based Paychex, a nationwide payroll
service firm — to pay $11.2 million in April 2005 for the
lakefront retreat at 450 Gulf Shore Blvd. N. for himself and
his wife, Karen.
The couple, who live in Salem, Ohio, also have homes in
Pelican Bay and Estuary at Grey Oaks. The Sebo Athletic
Center at Bowling Green State University, Bob Sebo’s alma
mater, just opened this month — the result of Sebo’s $4.4
million 2004 pledge, which also funded the Sebo
Entrepreneurship Lecture Series, a jazz studies scholarship,
a spring concert, and a PBS documentary about successful
regional entrepreneurs. The mansion may sound like a dream,
but for the Sebos it’s been anything but. More like a
nightmare — a quintessential money pit.
Since their purchase 2½ years ago, the Sebos have
discovered the 5-year-old mansion was riddled with problems,
including mold; rotting wood frames; a severely undersized,
improperly installed heating and air conditioning system; a
faulty drainage system that causes flooding; a defective
roof; poor insulation; and various other hidden structural
defects.
So the Sebos have gutted the interior and are rebuilding
the entire home.Bob Sebo also has filed two lawsuits against
just about everyone involved — from the sellers and real
estate agents to the designers, builders, the HVAC
installer, and even the window manufacturer and sliding
glass installation firm.
The defendants in one lawsuit include sellers Paul and
Sarah Jacobson, Mike Shipley Homes, Naples architect Frank
Neubek, Wiegold & Sons Inc., subcontractor Bruce Tansey
Custom Carpentry, Twin Windows Corp., Omni Track Inc., and
RLK Construction Co. of Naples Inc. A second lawsuit was
filed against the property broker, Premier Properties of
Southwest Florida Inc. and sales associate Linda Sonders.
That lawsuit was filed in Collier Circuit Court, while the
first was filed in January.
Since the first complaint was filed, the defendants have
filed their answers, replies that deny the allegations, with
some pointing fingers at third parties that also could be
brought into the legal action — a settlement or possible
trial. And some defendants’ answers contend the sellers are
to blame — for lack of care or maintenance — and materials,
not the installers, are faulty, which the defendants weren’t
aware of.
Defendants in the latest lawsuit still have time to file
their answers. Reached in Ohio, Sebo said he couldn’t
comment. His attorney, Edward Cheffy of Cheffy, Passidomo,
Wilson & in Naples, also declined comment, citing his firm’s
policy of not discussing pending litigation. Cheffy
represents Sebo only in the earlier lawsuit and has filed a
motion to remove himself as counsel in the second due to a
conflict of interest.
Before filing the lawsuits, documents obtained by The
Daily News from Naples city officials show, the Sebos hired
an engineering firm and lawyer, who both contacted the city,
contending the home was dangerous and violated code.
The engineering firm wrote to Naples Building Official Paul
Bollenback, branding the home dangerous and citing numerous
code violations. The Dec. 29, 2006, letter by principal
engineer Jeffrey Parzych points out that changes were made
since planning drawings were filed with the city, including
substituting aluminum support columns for steel; inadequate
shear walls, supports, framing, and connections; cracked
beams; missing bolts and connectors.
Parzych notes that the building doesn’t appear to be “in
danger of collapse” under gravity loading, but notes it’s
not designed according to code.In February, a series of
e-mails followed between attorney David Zulian, Cheffy’s
co-counsel, and City Attorney Bob Pritt.
Zulian wanted to ensure that city officials were
investigating the dangers to determine whether the house
needed to be condemned. The city already had issued a
demolition permit.
“The way I understand it, the process of condemning a
home is not only to protect the homeowner, but also the
public,” Zulian wrote. “Also, a condemnation order does not
require the home to be totally demolished, but instead
emphasizes the safety concerns for the homeowner and the
public, and provides an added level of inspection/approval
before the home is again deemed habitable.”
Pritt e-mailed that he’d look into it, then replied: “I
am a little skeptical about the need to demolish a $14M new
structure, but will keep an open mind. It is the building
official’s call and I know Mr. Bollenback takes his duties
seriously.”
Interviewed by phone recently, Bollenback said Zulian
asked him to condemn the home.
“When he requested that, I said, ‘Sir, you have a letter
here from an engineer saying it is not in imminent danger of
collapse or destruction. Why would I condemn it?’’’
Bollenback said. “‘We don’t want to use condemnation if no
one’s living in it.’”
“I said, ‘Sir, I’m not going to condemn it if you don’t
think it’s going to fall down in a windstorm,’” Bollenback
said, adding, “Then I pointed out it survived Hurricane
Wilma.”
So Sebo sued everyone involved in building and selling
him the house. The legal complaints paint this picture:
In January 2005, the Sebos, through their sales agent,
Karen Cosentino of Naples, were given marketing information,
shown the property and provided with other written and
verbal information, including details about construction,
the quality and structural integrity of the improvements.
The Sebos and Cosentino were unaware of any defects.
So they entered a purchasing agreement with Premier
Properties and Sonders for the home, which was listed at
$11.8 million — a November 2004 agreement that would give
their agents a large commission. Unaware of the hidden
defects, which weren’t readily visible, the Sebos paid $11.2
million for their new home.
Months after the April 18, 2005, closing, Sebo discovered
that the marketing and other information contained false
statements. Listed among them are:
• water intrusion through the windows and doors;
• improperly installed sliding glass doors;
• window and door frames that don’t adequately resist
wind pressure;
• a large amount of glass that exceeds the allowed
percentage under the Florida Building Code’s energy
efficiency code;
• leaks in a skylight and two lanais;
• gaps in Lcynene insulation;
• mold in both the main house and guest house and a
deteriorating balcony;
• roof defects that include inadequately spaced
fasteners, improper drainage and flashing, and inadequate
use of sealing cement, which causes leaks.
Many of the defects violate state and local codes.
The Jacobsons are being blamed because they allegedly
knew and Paul Jacobson helped supervise and direct
construction, while Neubek designed the house and signed and
sealed plans, and Shipley Homes was the general contractor.
Tansey installed the windows, which were assembled and
supplied by Twin Windows. Wiegold installed the HVAC system,
while Omni added the sliding glass doors, and RLK built the
roof.
The Jacobsons are accused of breaching their duty by
failing to disclose defects and Paul Jacobson is accused of
violating building codes; Mike Shipley and Shipley Homes,
Neubek, Tansey, Twin Windows, Omni Track, RLK Construction,
and Wiegold & Sons, are accused of negligence; while
Shipley, Neubek, Wiegold and RLK also are alleged to have
violated Florida Statutes, including the 1997 Standard
Building Code.
Premier and Sonders are accused of breaching their duty
to be honest, fair and competent; not using skill, care and
diligence normally used in such transactions; breaching
their duty to disclose all facts, which they allegedly knew,
yet provided false, erroneous, and incomplete information.
469-471-3116
BAH99@msn.com
Fax 866-526-5058
www.PremierPropertyInspectors.com
Brian Hamilton
Texas Real Estate Commission #9945
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